Unexpected Honesty
by Roxie Archer
Summary: All of the energy that Fai spends in hiding from Kurogane is exhausting, expecially since it doesn't get him anywhere. KuroxFai


Disclaimer: Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle is the intellectual property of CLAMP.

Author's Notes: On my computer, I have Fai's two lines in an unintelligable font but when I uploaded it here, I had to use a silly code for them so...if you were insane and wanted to break the code, you could read his lines.

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Unexpected Honesty

The world they had landed in was a bright and loud city. It was night and the multi-colored lights surrounding them in every shape and size were an intimidating sight. Kurogane held his arms out, as much to steady himself as to prevent the people standing behind him from moving forward into the sea of traffic whizzing by. They were standing on an island in the middle of a wide road and the headlights of vehicles streaked past them in front and behind. Kurogane felt small hands come to rest insecurely on his arm.

"Kurogane-san," Sakura's small voice struggled to rise above the roar of traffic. "how will we get across?"

Instead of answering her, Kurogane turned his irritation on its source. "You stupid white pastry!" he shouted, grabbing at Mokona who leapt from his shoulder to the safety of Fai's arms. "Why in the hell can't you land us somewhere safe for once!"

"Mokona lands us in safe places all the time!" the creature whined. "At least we're not in the road!"

"Let's see," Fai offered, examining the street ahead of them; or pretending to. "There are five lanes of traffic so we should be ok if we can just cross one at a time and see, they have a slight lull every few minutes. There has to be a traffic light somewhere."

"Mokona's scared!" Mokona cried, leaping into Sakura's open arms and burying its face in the front of her dress.

"It'll be ok." she assured Mokona, hugging it tightly.

Kurogane caught the lag in Fai's smile as he turned to look at them before he gave Sakura a reassuring smile that said everything would work out alright. It wasn't that Kurogane didn't realize, that Sakura was the slowest of them and if anything happened to Mokona they would never leave this world, but still, he was surprised that Fai had let it show. He knew that Fai cared deeply for that girl.

"What's Kuro-puu thinking of?"

Kurogane blinked to find Fai's face inches from his own, distracting him as planned, no doubt.

"Let's go." Kurogane said simply and they lined up and took a deep breath.

Syaoran crouched on the sidewalk after they'd crossed the street, panting with wide eyes.

"Oh, Syaoran-kun, are you alright?" Sakura asked, laying a gentle hand on his shoulder.

Syaoran was in too much shock to answer her properly. He had tripped in the third lane and been rescued by Fai who had left Sakura's side to pull him out of the path of an oncoming truck.

"Forgive me Fai-san." he choked out once he'd caught his breath.

But Fai only smiled amicably at him and said "Oh, now, don't say such things. Wouldn't you have done the same for me?"

Syaoran returned his smile and stood. "We should find a hotel."

It took them an hour to find a hotel, though Kurogane was sure half of the buildings they had passed had been hotels, they weren't places he would have suggested that Sakura walk into, certainly not places he would have Tomoyo even look upon; with neon signs of women in string bikinis and cats with retracting claws that stood and bowed, stood and bowed. Fai found himself fascinated by one particular bright orange sign advertising rooms with a star theme with a picture of a couple floating above their bed. But they had to sleep somewhere so Kurogane settled for a place with a relatively harmless looking white rabbit with a cup of what he hoped was tea.

The woman at the desk had initially refused to rent them a room in exchange for the items they'd collected from past worlds but Fai continued to display them on the counter before her and eventually her eyes landed on one particular object and widened.

"That isn't…_gold_ is it?" she asked in wonder, picking up a golden trinket they'd been given two worlds back.

"Of course." Fai answered easily. "You see, we just arrived here and we're a little lost. Perhaps you could direct us to the exchange, where we could sell this for money to pay for a hotel room?"

"Well…" the woman seemed hesitant "to tell the truth I don't know where that place is. But…I do have one room left and…I'll open it for you for your stay here…and you can give me that. I'll trade it in myself so you don't have to bother."

"Well…I guess." Fai answered, feigning hesitance himself.

Kurogane rolled his eyes.

When they opened the door to their room, Kurogane wasn't quite sure what to think. The ceiling and walls were lined with large square mirrors and the bed, set in the center of the room, was easily big enough for all of them to sleep in without being cramped.

"Oh…" Mokona exclaimed from Sakura's arms as she entered the room " look at all the Mokona!"

Fai stopped outside the doorway. "Sakura-chan." he exclaimed, and the forced cheerfulness grated on Kurogane's nerves. "Why don't you three get settled in and I'll see if I can find us something to eat. I want to explore a little anyway."

Sakura turned back, a look of honest concern on her face as she released Mokona to hop around the room in awe. "Don't go alone, Fai-san. Please."

Fai opened his mouth to reply but Kurogane saved him the trouble. "I'll go, you guys get some sleep."

Fai seemed hesitant, genuinely so this time, but said nothing as Kurogane closed the door and followed him back down the hall.

"You know, you forgot to bring Mokona, so we won't be able to go very far if we want to keep communicating." Fai said, some amount of humor in his voice.

"It's just as well." Kurogane grumbled back. "You'd get us lost otherwise."

They walked in silence for some time, occasionally asking people they passed if they happened to know anything about a white feather with markings or if anything strange had been happening recently. No one bothered to give them the time of day.

Finally, Kurogane asked it. "So, you wanna tell me the real reason you decided to come out here?" It wasn't even a well planned lie, they all knew that they still had food left from the last world, plenty. Sakura had let him lie, but Kurogane felt less inclined.

Instead of answering him right away, Fai quickened his pace slightly and Kurogane was forced to walk faster himself just to keep up. When he did speak, Kurogane frowned, narrowing his eyes at the mage.

"+ 6)17()6 +6 [+()6 #^ *7] 61 (1 1] %6^ 9+6) Kuro-puu. ]% 9^ $17}% }^8^ 6)^ $)+}%4^] #^)+]% +] 6)^ 5^x 411[ *14 9)+}^."

Kurogane grabbed Fai's arm, none too gently, and dragged him back to the point where he'd started walking faster. "You did that on purpose you idiot. If you don't want to answer, just say so. You've been acting strange since we got here. Whatever your problem is, it's your business but get over it quick. You're worrying the princess."

Fai smiled but it faltered visibly under Kurogane's scrutiny. "I said it's weird, that's all. I…don't like mirrors."

Kurogane may not have understood Fai's thoughts or what exactly it was he meant to say but he understood the significance of being told. So that Fai knew he appreciated the truth, no matter how small, Kurogane simply nodded and said no more on the subject.

They kept asking the people they passed about the feather with no success until, turning a fresh corner, a large sign in the distance caught their attention like the neon light it was, rising above the nearby rooftops; Sakura's feather, one of many, set in the headdress of a dancing girl whose leg moved up and down to indicate dancing.

"It's outside our language barrier." Fai warned, more of a statement than a warning and Kurogane nodded.

"Let's get going. Maybe we can get out of here tonight. I don't like this place any more than you do."

Without any money or their trade items, the pair were forced to find a back door to sneak into and found themselves in a woman's dressing room. The feathers were everywhere; set in headdresses placed on vanity tables and sewn onto skirts hanging on various corners.

Kurogane reached out and tore one from a nearby skirt turning it over in his hand curiously. Seeing him, Fai turned back and took the feather from him, throwing it aside carelessly and taking his hand, led him across the room to a door with a frosted glass panel. The door was locked and Fai indicated for him to force it open. Kurogane shouldered the door open. Fai seemed to be in a hurry now. He started moving the clutter of objects around until he found a small glass case sitting high on a shelf. Inside was Sakura's feather, the only real feather here, Kurogane assumed and wasting no time, Fai swept it off the shelf stooping to snatch the feather from the shards of glass.

Just as they were about to make their escape, the room flooded with noise and Fai rushed forward to push the door closed as the dressing room outside filled with performers.

"What now?" Kurogane hissed.

Fai looked around hastily and, finding a closet, swept the shards of glass inside with his foot and tucked the feather away in his coat. Kurogane watched as he roughed his hair and looked over the ninja's shoulder to the door.

At the sound of the doorknob turning, Fai grabbed the front of his armor and yanked him forward. They must have looked quite the sight, to whoever it was who had come through the door behind Kurogane, with Fai beneath him, back pressed against the desk behind him and their lips pressed soundly together. Kurogane glared at Fai whose only response was to moan and hike his leg a few inches up Kurogane's.

Shouting ensued and they were thrown out of the building roughly by a screaming little man with a high-pitched, hysterical tone. As soon as the door slammed shut behind them, Fai broke into laughter.

"+ %1]'6 {]19 9)1'5 ^x24^55+1] 95 *7]]+^4, )+5 14 y1745!"

"Shut up!" Kurogane snapped. Fai's little ploy had kept them from being charged as thieves but he still thought the other could have come up with something else, if the idiot hadn't really just wanted to annoy him.

Fai didn't bother to reply, straightening his hair with his fingers as they walked briskly back the way they'd come.

"You know, Kuro-pu, you're only upset because you really wanted to kiss me on your own and I got the jump on you first." Fai said, a slyness in his voice that Kurogane could have picked up even if he hadn't understood every word he'd said.

"Kuro-chan's so cute!" Fai cooed, patting Kurogane on the cheek. Kurogane growled in warning and Fai laughed. "It's ok, Kuro-min, I'll keep your secret since you're such a good kisser, well, as good as you can be under duress."

Fai gave Kurogane his most brilliant smile, and Kurogane narrowed his eyes at the blonde.

"Shut up."

Fai's eyes widened, all traces of his smile falling away instantly as he realized that Kurogane had understood what he'd said but before he could recover, Kurogane had grabbed hold of his outer coat and yanked him forward, crashing their lips together soundly.

Fai floundered in shock for a moment but Kurogane's solid form before him served as an anchor and he soon relented, unsure if this was a terrible mistake but unable to stop. Fai's lips parted, a second act of honesty brought about by something Fai could not place. Kurogane made him feel tired and drained after all the energy he spent in vain trying to hide from the dark man and he couldn't tell if it was destiny or stupidity but, increasingly, Kurogane seemed to be getting his own way and he seemed to be the one giving it to him.

They parted for air, and Fai sincerely wished he could have just suffocated instead and died so he wouldn't have to speak to Kurogane now but instead he was catching his breath and staring at the red lines of Kurogane's armor. A hand came to rest on his cheek and Fai's own drifted up to cover it, his brain reassuring him that he would push it away…at some point.

"Kurogane-san, Fai-san."

The hand fell away before he could push it away and that irrationally upset him somehow but Syaoran and Sakura and Mokona had found them and he was pulling the smile into place before he even knew he was doing it.

"Ah! Sakura-chan, Syaoran-kun, Mokona-chan, did we take too long to come back?"

Sakura shook her head. "We were worried. This city doesn't really seem…safe."

"Sakura-hime insisted on looking for you so…"

Fai waved a hand dismissively. "That's fine! In fact you have perfect timing because look at what Kuro-ru and I found." And he reached into his coat for Sakura's feather.

While Fai bent down to hand over her feather and Sakura gushed her surprise and thanks, Mokona jumped up onto Kurogane's head.

"Bet you didn't feel Mokona coming!" it lorded, dancing atop Kurogane's head. "It's one of Mokona's 108 secret techniques! '_Surprise! It's Mokona!_'". Mokona looked down at Fai with an exuberant smile and Fai locked eyes with the creature momentarily, returning his smile.

"You, Mokona, are very sneaky!" he declared with false pride, poking Mokona lightly and Mokona screeched with giggles.

Kurogane reached up and grabbed the creature by the ears, pulling it down from his head. "Take us to the next world, manjuu." he ordered.

"Yes, sir, captian!" Mokona declared, saluting Kurogane with its tiny paw. "Prepare for transport! Five to beam up!"

Kurogane rolled his eyes as the transportation circle appeared but he caught Fai's gaze before they were engulfed.

Fai offered him a smile that Kurogane had never seen before. It wasn't quite _happy_, nor did it speak of regret but he returned it none-the-less because it was real and Fai seemed amused, which of course, caused Kurogane to slam the frown back in place as he lost sight of Fai in the swirl of magic.

"Idiot." he muttered to himself as their group vanished from the world of neon signs and mirrors.

And he thought he might have heard someone agreeing with him, but it might just as well have been his imagination.

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Post whatevers: If you liked, please review. Ja!


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